The present invention generally relates to water coolers drawing water from either a bottle, or from point-of-use (POU) filtered water. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and apparatus with hot water or hot gas sanitizing functions.
Two main dispensing methods are used to dispense water or another liquid from a water cooler to a vessel such as a cup or glass: gravity-fed and pump-fed methods. With gravity-fed methods, a dispensing nozzle is positioned sufficiently lower than the water level of the water tank to allow water to be dispensed to the vessel at a desired flow rate based on gravity. With pump-fed systems, the dispensing nozzle may be positioned higher than the water level of the tank, and a pump or similar apparatus may be used to cause the liquid to flow to the nozzle area at a desired flow rate for dispensing to the vessel. In addition to a pump, electronics and valves are usually needed with pump-fed systems.
Gravity-fed systems typically position a faucet or other dispensing nozzle close to the water tank, so there is usually less variation in temperature between the liquid in the tank and the liquid being dispensed from the faucet, than in pump-fed systems. However, in both types of systems, this can be an issue. In addition, experience in the water cooler and liquid dispensing industry has shown that water cooler assemblies and liquid dispensing apparatus with sanitizing functions would be advantageous for enhanced pathogen control.